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For fyke's sake!

Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: The Briny Bar
Forum Description: The place for general chat on saltwater fishing!
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=135759
Printed Date: 30 Mar 2024 at 2:24am


Topic: For fyke's sake!
Posted By: The Tamure Kid
Subject: For fyke's sake!
Date Posted: 02 Aug 2021 at 10:46pm
The highlight of the recent school holidays for my boys was our first try at eel netting on a family farm in Northland. After my 7-year-old fishing mad boy had spent hours trying to catch an eel on a hand line in summer when I was back at work, his auntie thoughtfully gave him a fyke net as a surprise gift - hoping that might reward his patience and determination.

Our winter trip up to the farm was our first chance to try it. Having zero knowledge of, or experience with, that kind of net, I did the obligatory YouTube search and found a video of someone using a fyke in the Wairarapa. Very helpful.

It had bucketed down like a typical Northland winter, flooding the stream that runs through the farm. So the next afternoon saw us beside a swollen, chocolate-milk coloured drain running from a swamp to the main creek - with me in my old neoprene fly fishing waders putting a chunk of rump steak into the end of the net, and attaching the net and also a plastic berley basket with a roast chicken frame in it (for extra luck!) to an electric fence standard.

Next morning the boys sprinted across the paddock in gumboots and wet weather gear to - beyond all expectations on my part - find seven eels wriggling in the end nearest the meat. What excitement and fun for the boys as they wrestled the eels and released them into the drain. And the wily elderly retired farm dog got a surprise breakfast of steak amid the excitement, when I had my back turned.

We all knew what we'd be doing late that afternoon. For our second attempt we chose a different side creek entering the now dropping main stream. It looked promising when I decided to slightly re-position the net five minutes after I set it, and there was already one eel inside. The next morning saw me struggling to haul out a net bulging with an astounding 21 eels - including some very sizeable ones. Again, they were released out of the open end and quickly slithered towards the water and down the bank to the creek amid shrieks from the boys about slime and instructions to "come back here, eel!".

I can report that absolutely no eels were harmed in the making of those indelible memories for our two boys.

Partly because I'm dubious about the eating quality of eels from that kind of muddy farm creek, and also because I have no clue about how to process them (soaking in water, then skinning, I've since heard). And I didn't have a smoker to hand.

But I'd recommend eel netting as one of the cheapest and most enjoyable rural pastimes for Kiwi kids who like the outdoors (and mums and dads too!).











Replies:
Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 5:54am
Nice, I had great fun as a kid catching eels. You're right about the taste though. In that water they will taste like mud.

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Best gurnard fisherman in my street


Posted By: Alan L
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 7:17am
Great that you released them anyway. They are special creatures that deserve some protection. Their life cycle is amazing.
Sounds like good fun for the kids. And by releasing them you have an endless supply.
Alan


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Legasea Legend member


Posted By: Muppet
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 7:49am
Haha great fun

I have fond memories of headless eels squirming in my grandads bath tub before being fried in butter šŸ˜‚


Posted By: Steps
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 8:13am
Cool story , brings back lots memories.

We used to put them in a 1/3 drum for 24hrs. Feed them bread. And pulling out a couple buckets water , pour new in with a lot of water disturbance (oxygen according to our grandfather.) 4 or 5 times in that period.


Cook made a fire, get a good bed of embers going.
 Gut and wash any slime off the eels, then roll in wet newspaper, put in the embers.
Cant rem how long, Couple outside paper layers had burnt off.
 Unroll the eel, the skin stuck to the newspaper, ended up with this beautiful white length of meat near falling off the bones.



Posted By: v8-coupe
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 8:16am
Have caught and released a few.
However never processed them.
All pre done by the rallies. Smile
I remember reading somewhere or someone telling me you have to be a little careful when dealing with them as their blood can be toxic. Confused


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Legasea Legend Member


Posted By: bazza
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 8:35am

As Alan rightly says ... our eels in NZ have an amazing life cycle & are far from the slimy revolting creatures many consider them to be.

Having sparked your youngsters interest it would be an ideal time  to expand their knowledge ( as well as your own perhaps ) & hand it on to them ... reckon you would have a captive audience.

I am no expert but as I know it :-

NZ has the largest eels in the world ... mainly two species namely the
long fin & short fin one of which can be found in NZ not sure which one. 

They can be trained to interact with humans by regularly feeding them until until they will eat out of your hand. I recently witnessed an eel & a golden retriever playing together & apparently it was a regular event when they would both arrive at the same time each day. Sadly it no longer happens as presumably someone has caught the eel.

They can travel a fair distance at night after rain over land ... hence why they can often be found in isolated ponds & waterways.

At a certain age ( think about 4 or 5 ) they are ready to spawn so leave en masse for Tonga & on the way a lot of the males turn into females & carry fertile eggs.

On reaching Tonga the adults release their fertile eggs then one by one die as the eggs develop into tiny creatures known as grasslings.

Now for the really amazing part ... these tiny creatures find their way back to NZ via ocean currents. 

The really large eels in NZ are barren females that have fattened up repeatedly for the impending trip to Tonga but being barren stay at home. 


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When you cry, feel pain or sadness, no one notices your sorrow .... BUT
fart just ONE time !!!!!!!!!!!


Posted By: Marligator
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 8:57am
That is awesome, it brings back fond memories for me, I used to do commercial eeling in school holidays when I was at secondary school, even had my own commercial license.

If it is a muddy creek one way to get the muddy flavor out of the eels dad used to do was put them in a cow trough for a couple of weeks and they would clean out. Occasionally they would climb out of the trough ad escape but most times they just stayed in there. 


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Posted By: Alan L
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 10:51am
Bazza, I think their sexual maturity does not begin til 30-40 yrs. They are long lived creatures - some they reckon have made 100 yrs.
Basically they will stay resident in that creek for decades before wanting to breed.
There is a stream running thru the Mt Bruce wildlife park and it has eels. They feed them at 3pm each day - mainly with the pests they trap - rats/stoats etc.
They ring a bell at 3pm. 
But the eels start congregating at around 2.45 every day. They come from kms along the stream every day.
Alan


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Legasea Legend member


Posted By: bazza
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 12:57pm
Must say your young uns are pretty adventurous in being quite comfortable handling eels ... doubt many their age would ... or a lot of adults for that matter.

Must confess that I am not totally at ease  when cleaning a trout at the rivers' & suddenly notice a huge black eel is nibling at it not far away from your hand.


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When you cry, feel pain or sadness, no one notices your sorrow .... BUT
fart just ONE time !!!!!!!!!!!


Posted By: Reel Deal
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 12:59pm
I understand that they return to the creek they left and that they are tribal. If you get one from one area and drop it into a different creek in a different area they are canabalised. Very territorial. Been told always take back to where Iā€™d found them when catching as a boy. 

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The gods do not subtract from the allotted span of men's lives the hours spent on fishing - Assyrian Proverb


Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 1:49pm
We get both long fin and short fin eels in NZ. It is the long fin that get to huge sizes

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Best gurnard fisherman in my street


Posted By: MB
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 2:34pm
This is how we do it.




Posted By: Pcj
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 5:34pm
Reminds me of a old girlfriend.told me to keep my hands to myself.Heck I hadnt enter the creek yet.I saw the eel and thought ,Nah let it give her a fright. Forty yrs on and we stll laugh about it.


Posted By: MATTOO
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 5:34pm
What a great family outcome.
Memories golden in experience.
Well done in getting the right result.

I've done a few experiences, don't like eating them.
We used to hunt them in the whau, upper waitemata.
But when the tide was out and delving into the holes, it was always the dare you formula.

Oh the days off youth and experiences.


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Just cruising in my now sweetas pimped out Southern 755 HT0!


Posted By: Alan L
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 5:53pm
I can remember biking home thru town with them hanging from my handlebars. A length of green cord string on a stick and a hook and some red meat and that was the w/end sorted.
Had some neighbours that valued them.
And the rabbits I shot with my air rifle. Again biking thru town with rabbits and rifle. I must have been about 12 yrs old.
Those were the days. Today the town would be locked down and the AOS would be hunting me down with assault rifles and balaclavas.
Alan


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Legasea Legend member


Posted By: krow
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 7:23pm
Great read and yes memories came back too and no doubt your young ones will have these locked in now too. Special laugh about the steak. LOL 


Posted By: The Tamure Kid
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 7:44pm
Originally posted by MB MB wrote:

This is how we do it.



Nice one, MB. I enjoyed that. First, catch your snapper...

As with my boys, a fantastic experience for your lad. Endless fascination. Simple, yet so rewarding. In summer, I might try that with my boys in the farm creek. THanks for posting.



Posted By: The Tamure Kid
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 7:48pm
Originally posted by bazza bazza wrote:


As Alan rightly says ... our eels in NZ have an amazing life cycle & are far from the slimy revolting creatures many consider them to be.

Having sparked your youngsters interest it would be an ideal time  to expand their knowledge ( as well as your own perhaps ) & hand it on to them ... reckon you would have a captive audience.

...

Thanks for the comments Bazza. My older boy wrote a story in his primary school writing book (not something he particularly enjoys, but the experience inspired him), and I'll definitely tell them about the amazing migrations you guys have mentioned.
We can look it up online and read together.

Strangely, given it's not far from the east coast of Northland, the stream drains west and eventually the water runs through other big rivers into the Kaipara. 


Posted By: The Tamure Kid
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 7:50pm
I'm glad my wee story has prompted memories for so many of you. I've enjoyed reading the comments.

Obviously most of us have a love of the outdoors, and fishing in particular - so I'm not surprised it's something a lot of you have done in childhood.


Posted By: Alan L
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 9:29pm
If your kids want to feed them on a regular routine, you will find they become quite tame, and they will see yet another side to these amazing creatures.
Alan


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Legasea Legend member


Posted By: MB
Date Posted: 04 Aug 2021 at 11:00am
Originally posted by The Tamure Kid The Tamure Kid wrote:

Nice one, MB. I enjoyed that. First, catch your snapper...

As with my boys, a fantastic experience for your lad. Endless fascination. Simple, yet so rewarding. In summer, I might try that with my boys in the farm creek. THanks for posting.

Thanks. It was a special moment for the boy. I would defend anyone's right to harvest eels for food if that's what they want to do, but I would take no pleasure harming these creatures myself. Fishing certainly wouldn't be a challenge in the sporting sense. 


Posted By: Mr Moritz
Date Posted: 04 Aug 2021 at 4:50pm
Many, many years ago after a night at the pub, two mates and I decided to go eel spearing off the beach at Macra. With 12 volt battery in back pack and hand held spotlight in hand away we went. After many near misses of both toes and eels someone finally scored a hit. Must have got the grumpiest eel on the beach. Despite being speared in the tail he coiled the rest of his body around the spear handle like a viper, and with jaws snapping sought to bite the hand holding the spear. Mate let out a loud scream, dropped the spear and ran back to shore at high speed. So the two of us left looked at each other and then without a word headed back to shore. Never tried eel spearing since....       


Posted By: Far Quirk
Date Posted: 20 Aug 2021 at 11:51am
I did a lot of eeling in Hawkes Bay.  I'm ashamed to admit a lot of eels met their maker and were just left on the riverbank.  I've grown up since then.  Probably my most memorable story was fumbling around in the dark with a dying torch.  We spotted an eel and had no gear so tried to break a willow branch off. When I was having little success with the branch, my mate said "mind!" and swung a Bowie knife at the branch I was still holding.  I've still got the scar over 50 years later.
Excellent report Lester.  Good to see the "Catch of the day" being knocked off the top of the Most Thanked list.


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Far Quirk - I'm goin' fishn!


Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 20 Aug 2021 at 3:02pm
As kids I would grab them in my hands at night and throw them out the water, easy to do with practice. Got bitten a few times of course. Used to grab them out of holes they made in the mud too. Got bitten a few more times. Last time I was bitten was last summer hand feeding them at the local park. Only got bitten 3 times but I got them coming right out of the water to take food from my hands. Have patted some monsters while snorkeling at night in Kai Iwi lakes.  Very cool creatures

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Best gurnard fisherman in my street


Posted By: bazza
Date Posted: 20 Aug 2021 at 9:32pm
Originally posted by smudge smudge wrote:

As kids I would grab them in my hands at night and throw them out the water, easy to do with practice. Got bitten a few times of course. Used to grab them out of holes they made in the mud too. Got bitten a few more times. Last time I was bitten was last summer hand feeding them at the local park. Only got bitten 3 times but I got them coming right out of the water to take food from my hands. Have patted some monsters while snorkeling at night in Kai Iwi lakes.  Very cool creatures

Having seen the size of those eels a com fisher used to pull out in his nets ... many over 100 mm in dia cannot for the life of me think of any reason anyone would want to go snorkeling among them at night.

Seem to recall Catchelot saying he did so as well ... carrying a glass jar in search of fish farts to replace the worn out bubbles in his spirit level. 









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When you cry, feel pain or sadness, no one notices your sorrow .... BUT
fart just ONE time !!!!!!!!!!!



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